Kesha has shared the studio version of “Joyride,” her first single of 2024 and first to be released on her own label, Kesha Records. Below, check out a lyric video for the song, which she debuted live in June at Brooklyn’s Planet Pride. Kesha co-wrote the track with Zhone and Madison Love.
Kesha has touted the self-release of “Joyride” as a celebration of independence after a long, troubled relationship with Kemosabe, the label owned by super-producer Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald. As with her 2017 album, Rainbow, and follow-up High Road, Kemosabe released Kesha’s 2023 album, Gag Order, in conjunction with RCA. (Dr. Luke did not work on those records.) A month after Gag Order’s release, Kesha and Dr. Luke settled a years-long defamation case in relation to her allegation that the producer sexually assaulted her in 2014. “Joyride” is her first release since the end of the Kemosabe contract.
Kesha is set to headline Philadelphia’s Wawa Welcome America Festival tonight. A Lollapalooza show (and afterparty concert) follows this summer, along with an appearance at Mexico City’s Festival Hera HSBC.